(Tampa) – In response to the Republican National Convention Rules Committee action on Friday, Aug. 24, granting the Republican National Committee — and Mitt Romney — sweeping new powers to amend the governing document of the GOP and allocate and bind state party delegates to presidential candidates based on state straw polls and give presidential campaigns final approval of delegate selections, Minnesota Delegation Chair Marianne Stebbins issued these statements.

“Gov. Romney’s campaign counsel Ben Ginsberg in today’s Rules Committee meeting adopted an attitude toward Liberty Republicans that if you can’t beat them, then beat them with a stick,” said RNC Minnesota delegation chair Marianne Stebbins, who sits on the Rules Committee. “Mr. Ginsberg and the interests he represents made it clear today that Liberty Republicans and Tea Party Republicans are unwelcome guests at this party.”

The rules changes came as, at the same time in a room down the hall, the Credentials Committee was unseating the Ron Paul delegation elected at the Maine state convention.

Stebbins noted that during the Rules Committee meeting Mr. Ginsburg made numerous proposals from raising thresholds to nominate a candidate from the floor to requiring binding of state delegates and even approval of state delegates by national presidential campaigns. Mr. Ginsburg argued that his rules, effectively gutting grassroots and state party authority to choose delegates to national conventions, were necessary to provide the RNC and Romney campaign “flexibility” to adapt to changing political conditions.

“The ‘flexibility’ Mr. Ginsberg wants is centralizing party power in the party establishment in order to prevent the discussion of issues important to Americans but that might challenge party candidates,” said Stebbins.

“Loyalty to the party or a candidate is having the courage to tell them they are wrong when they propose policy that is contrary to small “r” republican principles and bad for the country. That’s best for party and country. Apparently, Mr. Ginsberg and the Romney camp do not want that annoyance. They would prefer to put tape over the Check Engine Light rather than heed its warning.”

“Even non-Ron Paul delegates and MNGOP party officials recognize the significance of the RNC actions goes beyond its direct effect on Liberty Republicans. It’s pure and simple a power grab by Romney forces,” Stebbins added.

Craig Westover, a former MNGOP communications director and a Ron Paul delegate to the RNC noted, “The Rules Committee action is why many Liberty Republicans don’t salivate when someone rings the unity bell and why we can’t give unequivocal support to Gov. Romney. If Gov. Romney can condone a power grab by the RNC, what’s to say he won’t initiate an Obama-like power grab by the federal government when he is President?”

“The real ‘battle for the soul of America’ is taking place within the Republican Party,” Westover noted. “Is the Republican Party going to be, like the Democratic Party, a power grab party or are we going to be a party that stands for what it says it stands for – individual liberty and constitutional government. When the Rules Committee essentially and arbitraily invalidates the Republican Party Constitution doesn’t bode well for liberty and constitutional government.”

“Liberty Republicans believe that Americans live better when they live free,” said Stebbins. “And when political parties live free they are stronger parties. I can’t fathom a Republican candidate for President that would support Mr. Ginsberg’s obvious contrary belief.”

This GOP action will surely drive many long-term Republicans away from the GOP party. It’s sad to see the GOP is ready to give Marxist, Socialist, DummyCrats all of the political strength that exists within the USA into perpetuity. If the USA survives a 2012 electionyear loss to the current POTUS even though I’ve been a committed GOP voter for more than 40 years will take this stupid powergrab change as direct instruction to search for some other, non-DummyCrat party to support. In future elections.

I wasn’t even a Ron Paul supporter before these RNC ‘shenanigans’. Why even have a convention if you are going to strip away the process in advance? Why don’t they just let the RNC committee chairman Priebus nominate himself for president? This is definitely a ‘power grab’ by Romney and Priebus.

This proves that the Establishment in the GOP is desperate….and that they have no use for small government republicans or abiding by their own rules…. The Establishment must be thrown out…. and The TEA party and the Liberty party need to unite….. 3rd parties can survive if we unite to get rid of this evil….. YES EVIL…..because the GOP’s Establishment is nothing but POWER HUNGRY WHORES….

Exactly….. The GOP and Democrats are BOTH rigging their OWN parties elections….. this is just wrong….and I hope and pray this will backfire on them big time…. Romney’s goons need to be brought to justice….

I have been an active member of the GOP since 1990. I am done. The trashing of the young Republicans here in Minnesota. The deceit and corruption and illegal vote fraud has me so pissed.the GOP can piss on their own shoes all they want. I am done with these neo-con Globalist stooges. I am joining the constitution party of Minnesota. Both the main parties are a dual headed beast. Set to destroy our nation as well as the constitution. I will not hold my nose like I did for John (Toilet) McCain (Mclame) That traitor authored the NDAA section 1021 bill. He is a treasonist of the first order. God Bless America short live the GOP. They just killed their future. it was planned this way by the Globalist powers. Now Mittens will surely lose and Obama the Anti-Christ can continue the destruction of America.

It’s bad enough that we’ve had to put up with the illegal placement of the unconstitutional usurper in 2008 from the corrupted and lawless DEM/DNC now our own party representatives are pulling the same criminal, illegal acts of Federal Election Fraud to alter the outcome of the election in their favor, disenfranchizing and frauding the American Citizens from a legal, constitutional, and just election process. The RNC/GOP/rombama have proved to be no better that the criminal cabal that has control of the Whitehouse now. JAIL TIME IS IN ORDER!!!!